Since earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2002, Travis Rice always comes up when experts debate the world's best all-around snowboarder. TransWorld and Snowboarder both named him Rider of the Year in 2005 and 2009. If you ever walk by a television playing one of Rice's backcountry runs, sit down, because you will never be disappointed. However, this Jackson Hole local's ability on a board is not why he's in our Millennial Men series. Rice's drive as an entrepreneur and innovator in the business of action sports is what truly makes him stand apart. Realizing there was a complete disconnect between the artists of boardsports and their customer base, Rice created the online gallery AsymbolGallery.com. The company sells high-quality, limited-edition prints of artists and photographers from the snow, surf and skate worlds. He is also the driving force behind The Art of Flight snowboarding film and the construction of The Supernatural, which promises to be "the greatest snowboard run in the world."

What do you spend most of your time on these days?

Travis Rice: Asymbol. It's primarily web based, but we also tour shows and do stuff with nonprofit groups. We've been working all summer to get Asymbol 2.0 up and been doing shows all over. We did Milk Studios in New York last summer. The biggest project we have is The Art of Flight photography edition. We'll be touring 45 locations around the world with this photo show that goes with the film. That, and we're doing all these limited runs on screen prints. We just set up a next-level, fine arts screen-printing studio. We oversaw a 204-[page] book for the film. I'm really excited about the book. It's an amazing design piece.

I've been working on The Supernatural for three years now, and it's happening next winter. Essentially we have this place in interior British Columbia that is a 2,200-foot face, and we can basically do whatever we want with it. Right now we're going in there with a construction crew and completely changing it. At the top 500 feet, we're building, like, 60 features: topping trees, building platforms, building arches, and all kinds of crazy sh*t. Up there the snow pillows so perfectly that we're essentially going to have the craziest run in the world. You have this massive run we're throwing an [exorbitant] amount of money into. Next winter, 20 of the world's best snowboarders will converge there for one week. I'm hoping this will be the future of snowboarding and competition venues. If it works, we'll build more all over the world.

How involved were you with the behind-the-scenes production on The Art of Flight?

TR: Heavily involved. Me and my partner, Curt Morgan, who owns Brain Farm Production Company and is the director and producer on the film, got the project rolling. About six years ago, we did our first film together, The Community Project, which I funded the first part of it. That turned out to be a total success. Sponsors loved it, and people loved it because we found a different formula than just music over some guy's action-sports footage. Then we did That's It That's All, which came out three years ago, [which] was incredibly successful and paved the way for us to do this film. We work closely together. I head the locations, the riders, the snowboarding, and he's on the production side: the filming, cameras, editing, etc.

What inspired you to become involved in the business side of things?

TR: I guess I've always been very involved in anything…well, anything, really. I'm a huge believer that if you want anything done right, do it you yourself. I have an outerwear line, a board line, and I have a new goggle that I spent two years designing that is finally coming out this year. It's awesome; it's creative and collaborative. With Asymbol, I have to follow everything through until the end. With these other projects, I can delegate, which is usually more enjoyable.

Do you see yourself as unique among your peers?

TR: Yeah, I see myself as unique, as in my ability to commit and follow through. I have a lot of friends who work hard and have great ideas, but it seems like you have to really stick to an idea to see it through to fruition.

Who are your role models?

TR: Richard Branson. His ability to believe in his own vision and see it through, plus work so hard and still really enjoy his life amazes me. You have to have balance. I see guys who are 60, 70 years old in suits and have just worked their whole lives. It's like, "Dude, you've worked your whole life for your life? What did you work for?"